Electrically powered motor vehicle
First Claim
1. An electrically-powered motor vehicle comprising:
- a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material and molded and bonded into an integral composite structure;
the structure including a central longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber;
the beam being hollow and generally rectangular in section to serve as a compartment for the vehicle power cells and extending throughout a major portion of the length of the vehicle, and being closed at its forward end by the rear wall of the power unit supporting chamber, the aft end being openable for the insertion or removal of the power cells;
the bottom panel of the body portion being substantially at the same level as the bottom of the beam and providing a floor in the passenger compartment;
front and rear road wheels mounted by suspension means directly to the plastic structure;
said suspension means for the front wheels of the vehicle includes mounting means for front shock struts and front springs formed integrally with the upper rear portions of the side walls of the chamber; and
a horizontal reinforcing and stiffening brace is formed in the rear wall of said power unit supporting chamber and extends between the mounting means.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrically powered vehicle achieves maximum structural strength with minimum weight by utilizing a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material, molded and bonded into an integral composite structure which includes a central, hollow longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber at the forward end closing the forward end of the beam and tying it to the side panels. The beam holds the batteries, and the chamber contains all of the components of the power unit including the controlling device. The structure is thus as rigid and light as possible, in addition to eliminating any possibility of any unwanted grounding or electrical paths. The only metal in the vehicle is that of the additional components such as road wheels, suspension members, steering, and power unit and the fasteners and brackets used to retain them in mounted position.
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. An electrically-powered motor vehicle comprising:
-
a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material and molded and bonded into an integral composite structure; the structure including a central longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber; the beam being hollow and generally rectangular in section to serve as a compartment for the vehicle power cells and extending throughout a major portion of the length of the vehicle, and being closed at its forward end by the rear wall of the power unit supporting chamber, the aft end being openable for the insertion or removal of the power cells; the bottom panel of the body portion being substantially at the same level as the bottom of the beam and providing a floor in the passenger compartment; front and rear road wheels mounted by suspension means directly to the plastic structure; said suspension means for the front wheels of the vehicle includes mounting means for front shock struts and front springs formed integrally with the upper rear portions of the side walls of the chamber; and a horizontal reinforcing and stiffening brace is formed in the rear wall of said power unit supporting chamber and extends between the mounting means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. An electrically-powered motor vehicle comprising:
-
a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material and molded and bonded into an integral composite structure; the structure including a central longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber; the beam being hollow and generally rectangular in section to serve as a compartment for the vehicle power cells and extending throughout a major portion of the length of the vehicle, and being closed at its forward end by the rear wall of the power unit supporting chamber, the aft end being openable for the insertion or removal of the power cell; the bottom panel of the body portion being substantially at the same level as the bottom of the beam and providing a floor in the passenger compartment; front and rear road wheels mounted by suspension means directly to the plastic structure; a plurality of individual power cell trays is provided for insertion into the hollow beam;
each tray carries a plurality of power cells;
the trays being arranged to be inserted end to end in the beam to provide enough power to supply the demand of the power unit;each tray is provided with a double-walled bottom providing a cavity within the bottom; a plurality of apertures are formed in the lower wall to permit overflow of pressurized air from the cavity to the exterior below the bottom; and an inlet port is provided in the tray communicating with the interior of the cavity to provide a flow path for pressurized air to enter the cavity from an external source.
-
-
26. An electrically-powered motor vehicle comprising:
-
a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material and molded and bonded into an integral composite structure; the structure including a central longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber; the beam being hollow and generally rectangular in section to sever as a compartment for the vehicle power cells and extending throughout a major portion of the length of the vehicle, and being closed at its forward end by the rear wall of the power unit supporting chamber, the aft end being openable for the insertion or removal of the power cell; the bottom panel of the body portion being substantially at the same level as the bottom of the beam and providing a floor in the passenger compartment; front and rear road wheels mounted by suspension means directly to the plastic structure; a bumper is provided extending across the width of the vehicle;
the bumper includes an elongate shock receiving member with a plurality of elongate, laterally spaced, support member;a socket for each support member is mounted on the aft end of the body portion; each support member is formed to slide within its respective socket; apertures are formed in each support member and socket and are arranged in registry with the bumper in operative position; lock pins are located in the respective registered apertures to prevent unintentional separation; a second socket is mounted on the body portion forward of and in alignment with each first socket; each support member is of sufficient length to enter into the second socket when the bumper is in operative position; a stop is secured to each support member to limit the extent of its removal from its first socket; each first socket is pivotally mounted for swinging in a vertical plane to allow the bumper to be lowered out of the path of the power cells when the stops engage the first socket; and an abutment is provided on the body portion to engage the inner portion of each support member as it swings upward to limit the extent of lowering of the bumper.
-
-
27. An electrically-powered motor vehicle comprising:
-
a combined body and chassis formed entirely of plastic material and molded and bonded into an integral composite structure; the structure including a central longitudinal beam, top, bottom, and side panels of the vehicle body portion, and a power unit supporting chamber; the beam being hollow and generally rectangular in section to serve as a compartment for the vehicle power cells and extending throughout a major portion of the length of the vehicle, and being closed at its forward end by the rear wall of the power unit supporting chamber, the aft end being openable for the insertion or removal of the power cell; the bottom panel of the body portion being substantially at the same level as the bottom of the beam and providing a floor in the passenger compartment; front and rear road wheels mounted by suspension means directly to the plastic structure; the power unit supporting chamber contains at least an electric motor, transmission, differential, and articulated drive shafts which extend laterally from the differential through apertures in the side walls of the chamber and which are connected at their outer ends to the front road wheels; a means is provided for electrically controlling the operation of the electric motor; and said controlling means is operatively connected to a variable position lever means controllable by an operator of said vehicle, said lever means being arranged whereby a first portion of travel of said lever means controls the speed of said motor while the remaining portion of travel controls the variable torque characteristics of the transmission while the motor is maintained at maximum speed.
-
Specification